Daily Writing things parte dos

"Only the shallow know themselves."
-Oscar Wilde (Barbara Belford, Oscar Wilde: A Certain Genius)

This idea of "No one knows you better than yourself" pertains to this quote and reality because the shallow members of society often portray themselves in a way that is not at all themselves. They put on a disguise for the rest of the world. They are the puppeteers and the rest of the world is the caved individuals and their "disguise" is the shadow on the wall

Nora:Of course. Besides, I was the one responsible for it. Whenever Torvald has given me money for new dresses and such things I have never spent more than half of it; I have always bought the simplest and cheapest things. Thank heaven and clothes look well on me, and so Torvald has never noticed it. But it was often very hard on me, Christine-because it is delightful to be really well dressed, isn't it? (Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House pg. 13)

The idea of truth vs. false truth appears here in two different ways. First, Nora is purchasing cheaper and more simple clothes to save money. Her husband is being tricked into believing that she is wearing expensive clothing. Second, Nora was saving money behind her husbands back so that they may go on a vacation, which is just what Torvald needs to get over his illness. Nora's lack of spending and deception of her husband becomes the shadow's on the cave wall which Torvald is seeing.

Malvolio: "M"-Malvolio. "M"-why, that begins my name!
Fabian: Did not I say he would work it out? The cur is excellent at faults
Malvolio:"M." But then there is no consonancy in the sequal that suffers under probation. "A" should follow but "O" does.
(William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act 2. sc. 5)

Malvolio plays an interesting part in the Allegory of a Cave analogy with this quotation. When he receives the fake love letter from "Olivia" he immediately notices that it is initialed M.O.I.A. He acknowledges that they are not his initials, however, he forces himself to believe that the initials M.O.I.A. are his, but jumbled up like a puzzle. By creating the illusion that they initials are his, he becomes the puppeteer and the prisoners. He has created a the shadow of hope, and has accepted it. The false reality placed before him is like a dream come true, but it is about to become a hellish nightmare.


MRS. CHEVELEY. [Detains him by touching his arm with her fan, and keeping it there while she is talking.] I realise that I am talking to a man who laid the foundation of his fortune by selling to a Stock Exchange speculator a Cabinet secret.

SIR ROBERT CHILTERN. [Biting his lip.] What do you mean?

MRS. CHEVELEY. [Rising and facing him.] I mean that I know the real origin of your wealth and your career, and I have got your letter, too.

SIR ROBERT CHILTERN. What letter?

MRS. CHEVELEY. [Contemptuously.] The letter you wrote to Baron Arnheim, when you were Lord Radley's secretary, telling the Baron to buy Suez Canal shares - a letter written three days before the Government announced its own purchase. (Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband pg. 15)

Robert Chiltern has been living his life as the puppeteer. Ever since he traded a Cabinet secret to a stock exchange speculator, he has been living as though he made his fortune through hard work. The shadow's he placed before everyone else was quite effective in creating a false reality for the chained prisoners, especially his wife.

Stanley: This is after the home-place had slipped through her lily-white fingers! She moved to the Flamingo A second-class hotel which has the advantage of not interfering in the private social life of the personalities there! The Flamingo is use to all kinds of going-ons. But even the management of the Flamingo was impressed by Dame Blanche! In fact they were so impressed by Dame Blanche that they requested her to turn in her room-key-for permanently! This happened a couple of weeks before she showed here. (Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire pg. 99)

Stanley reveals to the reader that Blanche has been portraying a false truth to everyone. Her past life has caught up to her through Stanley's noseyness...Stanley has become the enlightened prisoner. He has seen the truth (Blanche's past) and has returned to the prisoners in the cave and is attempting to tell them of their deceive'd reality.

"I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose." (Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest)

Algy reveals to the reader that he has a false identity that he uses whenever he goes down to the country. To the people in the country, they know him only as Bunbury. They are seeing his shadow of truth, his false reality.

"Can I just let myself forget what you've told me? Can I just let myself forget what you made me do?" (Memento)

Lenny is creating his own reality. By forgetting the truth that Teddy just told him, he portrays a false reality to himself in the form of false information which is then seen by everyone else he meets. Because of his condition, he won't be able to tell whether it is the truth or just a creation of his own deception.

"I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools." (The Sound and the Fury)

When Quentin receives the watch from his father, he is reminded that life is better when time is forgotten than when it is a constant reminder. The note also mentions victory being an illusion. There are no winners in the game of life, there are only those who live with in the past, and those who move on. Quentin is stuck in the past and can not move forward.

Kelekian: "You must be very tough. Do you think you can be very tough?"

Dr. Kelekian has just told Vivian that she has cancer. Advance metastatic ovarian cancer in stage 4. She is about to go on chemotherapy and is being told to be "tough." She is told that there will be side effects but not of their severity. Kelekian's shadow is a false representation of what Vivian is about to go through. Though she is told it will be hard, she isn't told how hard, thus creating a false reality for Vivian. She may be expecting side effects that aren't as severe as they inevitably will be.

" 'Our baby was a boy,' he said. 'his skin was more red than brown. He had black hair on his head. He weighed almost five pounds. His fingers were curled shut, just like yours in the night.' "(Interpreter of Maladies)

Shukumar has been casting a shadow on Shoba since their baby died. Shukumar has never told his wife that he had seen the baby and Shoba has never thought of such a thing.